Wearing masks must in public places, gatherings in Kerala; penalty for violation

The government also said that those found violating the mask mandate will be punished under the Disaster Management Act. The state reported nearly 3,000 new COVID cases and 12 deaths with a Test Positivity Rate (TPR) of 18.33 per cent on Monday.

TN National Desk

Updated Jun 28, 2022, 14:16 IST

COVID spike in Kerala

Photo : PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has made it compulsory for people to wear masks in public places, gatherings, workplaces and during travel from Tuesday.

The decision was taken in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases in the state.

The government also said that those found violating the mask mandate will be punished under the Disaster Management Act.

The state reported nearly 3,000 new COVID cases and 12 deaths with a Test Positivity Rate (TPR) of 18.33 per cent on Monday. It was the highest TPR reported in the last 133 days.

Last week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting with key experts and officials in the wake of upsurge in COVID cases in some states.

The minister was given a presentation status of COVID cases in India and the global scenario of surge in cases. Mandaviya suggested to focus on districts reporting high case positivity, increase in surveillance and ramp up testing.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat are the top 10 states that are contributing most cases in the daily COVID tally.

Mandaviya also urged officials to increase the pace of vaccination including booster doses in districts reporting high cases. He said, “There are adequate vaccine doses available, while there should be focus on accelerating vaccination, there should be no vaccine wastage."

Meanwhile, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan is expected to chair a meeting with states on COVID-19 situation and vaccination, through video conference today, said sources, ANI reported.

Latest News